My Worst Fears, Realized
by Haurvatat
Summary: Haou grinned. He had been suppressed for years, but now there was this golden opportunity, dropped right in front of his face, and damn if he was going to let it get away. - Spiritshipping, sequel to Your Worst Fears, Realized -
1. Love's Unkind by Donna Summer

Hello, all! This is going to be a follow-up for another story of mine, the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX one. It expounds upon a plot device left open at the end of the fic and also gives me an opportunity to write out more of the characters that we didn't see too much of in the first fic. Since I'm back in school now, I kind of doubt that this one will be finished in the speedy manner that its predecessor was. Sorry about that, but this is the best I can do.

DISCLAIMER:  
Well I see him every morning in the schoolyard

'Fore the school-bell rings

And when he passes in the hallway

Well he doesn't

Seem to notice me

He's got a crush on my best friend

But she don't care 'cause she loves someone else

I'm standing on the outside of the inside

Where I want to be

Love's unkind

Love's unkind

Love's unkind

Love's unkind

Cause he's not mine (**1**)

* * *

Judai listed dangerously to the side before swinging back to his original position. His head lolled in a sad little fashion that was quickly righted when noticed by his friends.

Sho sweatdropped as he poked and prodded his friend into an upright position that he hoped was passable as someone who was awake and attentive during class. This was History class, the one class that Johan and Judai didn't have together. Naturally, because of this, there was nothing that Judai felt the need to pay attention to. Thus, his current out-cold state and poor Sho's plight.

"YUKI JUDAI!" the teacher bellowed.

"Yaaaauggh!" Judai was abruptly brought to feet and sudden wakefulness. As any exceptionally early riser will know, the faster you wake up, the harder it is to stay awake. Sleep yanked him back down again, causing his knees to buckle below him. Judai crashed to the ground, though luckily he was still too asleep to really feel much. Or perhaps it was that his head was really that hard.

"Yuki, would you like to explain to the class what I just was informing them about? I'm sure they would understand it better from the mouth of a fellow student," she said, fixing the horizontal boy with an unblinking, beady stare.

"Did it have anything to do with Mukden Bridge?"

The teacher looked startled. "Er… yes…"

"Oh, I know that one… Japanese guys dressed up as the Chinese soldiers and faked blowing up their own bridge in Manchuria so they could declare war on China and take over in order to get the raw materials they needed during the war."

The teacher looked especially displeased. "Yes… that's correct. Next time though, Yuki, please _attempt_ to look interested in the lesson. Your antics could be misconstrued as impertinence."

"Yes'm, yes'm, three bags full," he murmured, almost falling asleep again. **(2)**

Once the laughter of the students had calmed down, the teacher resumed her lesson and Judai attempted to resume his nap. But Sho was having none of it.

"Hey. Hey, Judai."

"Whaddya waaaaaant…?"

"How did you know what she was talking about? If you were awake the whole time, then what was I doing trying to help you out? You couldn't have made _my_ life a little easier and told me you were awake?" Sho demanded to know.

"I wasn't awake," Judai muttered. "But I knew we were around the middle of WWII in Europe when I passed out, so I figured I had nothing to lose by asking about Mukden…"

"That's not what I mean. But since when are you so smart that you know all about material we hadn't even covered until you slept through it?"

At this Judai smiled, his eyes a little bit more lively than they had been while he was adjusting to being awake. "I peeked at a couple of Johan's textbooks when I went to his room the other night."

Sho blushed and stopped talking.

"Not like that, you perv. We were talking about… stuff," Judai muttered, mind wandering, as per usual.

-_Flashback-_

_The two were walking along the beaten dirt road that went from the Slifer dormitory to the main buildings, holding hands and looking extremely sappy. Luckily for them both, no one was usually out at that hour, or at least, no one with a big mouth. Judai smiled and rested his head on Johan's shoulder sleepily._

"_Are you going to pass out on me now?"_

"_Mmm… possibly," Judai muttered. "But not before I get the chance to ask you…"_

"_Hmm? Ask me what?"_

"_Just… something…well, I think it's important, but I'm pretty sure you're not gonna be as on-board with the whole idea as I am…"_

_Johan made a pained face and glanced towards Heaven. "Why do I get the feeling this question of yours is on par with asking me to help you hide a body?" Judai laughed but made no effort to negate the taller boy's fears._

_The sun had yet to make its entrance, but the sky was growing lighter all the same. The spectrum of colours slowly making their way around the world reminded the pair that each of them had classes the next day – ones that they should probably be halfway awake for. This, however, was not big enough a concern to get in the way of their limited time together. It may've been only a walk with no one else around, but to them it was something much more special, regardless of how sugar-sweet it sounded. Odds were good that the couple had developed diabetes from the sweetness of their devotion to one another._

_Johan stopped at the large twin doors that marked the entrance to his dorm building. Judai tried to continue walking, but walked straight into his boyfriend._

"_Judai, you really need sleep. One day you're going to walk in front of an oncoming train or something like it and die just because you're too tired to make the extra effort it takes to get out of the way."_

_Judai smiled. "Well, at least I know you'll be there to yell at me to wake the hell up. 'Sides, sleep isn't really _that_ important." Johan facepalmed and helped his sleep-deprived boyfriend up two flights of stairs to the dorm room._

_As soon as they entered the room, Judai fell over face-first onto the mattress, sighing like a man carrying the world having been relieved of his burden. Johan couldn't help laughing at the highly undignified image. His horizontal boyfriend sent a nasty look his way, or what was really a normal look that was too exhausted to make the extra effort and look nasty, but still managed to get the general point across._

"_You wanna crash here with me tonight, I take it?"_

"_It sounds like a REALLY good idea right now, yes."_

"_Oh yeah, that reminds me… what was that thing you were going to ask me before?"_

"_Mmmmm… Johaaaaaan…Let me sleeeeeeep goddaaaaaaaamn it…"_

_Johan began to poke Judai mercilessly. "Nuh-uh! I really want to know now! Come on! I won't let you sleep 'til you tell me what it was!"_

"_Meanie-pants! Fine, fine! But just in case you've forgotten, I DID warn you that you might not like it."_

"_Alright," Johan said, holding up a hand in mock solemnity. "I swear I won't freak out, no matter what it is. Unless it really DOES have something to do with hiding a body, in which case I'm pretty sure I reserve the right to freak out."_

_Judai laughed and shook his head. "Oh, Lord, it's nothing like that. My work isn't near sloppy enough for me to need HELP hiding bodies."_

"…_Much as I love you, you frighten me on occasions."_

"_Love you too, dear. So… here goes. I want to meet your Mom over summer break."_

_Johan was silent for a while, his face changing expressions a few times over. Judai looked at him with a puppy face, unsure as to his boyfriend's thoughts on the matter. Johan leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and his forehead in his hands. "But… why would you want to…"_

"_I just do. Does it bother you? I mean, I know I've asked to come to your home with you once or twice before and you kept saying no, but wasn't that because you didn't want me to figure out that you were part of a Mafia family? Since I know now… I guess I just assumed that you'd be okay with it. If it's not, I totally get it."_

_Johan shook his head, looking up. "No. It doesn't bother me. I'm just wondering what on Earth everyone's reactions will be. I never know how Mom's going to take things, and the others… like to be as unreadable as possible."_

"_Then surely I'll make no impact at all?"_

_Johan laughed outright at that. "Judai, angel, the meteor that killed off the dinosaurs is constantly being outdone by you in terms of impact. I think you'll turn their worlds upside down. It may be amusing to watch."_

"_So I can come with you?"_

"… _You understand that, for the most part, the decision isn't up to me? I mean, it's completely up to Mom. It's her house, for God's sake, plus I don't know if she'd be okay with anyone she considers an outsider staying in for a while. She's really paranoid, which brings me to the final point."_

"_What?"_

"_My family's Mafia. Like, guns and drugs and warlords and crime and DEATH. If something happened to you, I'd probably take a dive off of the tallest building I could find within five minutes."_

"_Ow. That strikes me as something that would show up in the morning, no pun intended."_

"_I'm serious here, Judai."_

"_So am I. I really didn't intend for that pun to slip out. I seem to have a gift for it. But all kidding aside Johan, just relax. Your mother managed to raise a wonderful child like you in that environment, didn't she? If you lived for so long, then I seriously doubt that anything could magically happen to get one of us killed in the limited window of time that I'll be visiting your house."_

_Johan's eyes shifted to the rug on the floor. "I'm not worried about what may happen inside my home. I'm more worried about what might happen when you leave to go home."_

_Judai's eyes widened._

"_There are probably cameras or whatever stationed all around our house that belong to rival Families. You've already experienced a taste of how nasty they can be to get what they want. We already know they won't think twice about kidnapping or even killing you to get to me and subsequently, my Mom."_

_Judai shivered. He remembered all too well the incident of three months ago, as did everyone else. It had been a very confusing time for everyone, so the entire group had spent days talking about it amongst each other just to figure out what the crap had actually happened. Even now, there wasn't really a concrete story._

_Apparently, some men from a rival Family had wanted to take Johan captive, but hadn't been able to get him alone, or something along those lines. To lure him out, they took advantage of Asuka's odd schedule and made it look like she had been kidnapped. When Judai and Johan had gone out as a tag-team search party, Judai had been the unlucky one and had been taken captive, drugged, half-starved, and molested. With the help of Haou and hidden talents for pickpocketing, Judai had managed to escape. His friends had taken care of making sure that the members of the rival Family remained locked up for a good, long time. Even if the threat was gone, Judai still had nightmares about the whole thing. He knew he had gotten off lightly with all limbs attached._

"_I still want to go with you. If it'll make you feel better, I'll wear disguises, the whole nine yards."_

_Johan still looked skeptical. "Why do you want to come so much?"_

_Judai took the question in, not quite sure of the answer himself. "I think… there's something special about being brought home to meet the parents, you know? Odds are good that we'd need to get it out of the way at SOME point, so why not now?"_

"_Meaning you just came up with the idea on the fly one day and only just now came up with any kind of justification."_

"_Precisely. You know me too well."_

_Johan sighed. "Fine, fine. I shall talk to Mother the next opportunity I get. Mind you, that might not be for a good long time. She's usually really busy."_

"_I'll keep it in mind."_

"_Okay. So, were you going to sleep or not?" No answer. Johan raised an eyebrow and looked down at his lover to find the boy out cold on his bed. Normally, Johan would've let him sleep, but as it was, it was time to go to classes. His nap session would have to wait until later that night, if he managed to make it through the day awake._

_-End of Flashback-_

Judai smiled at the memory. It had only been last night, but that didn't matter much. He had weaseled a promise to try out of Johan, which was all he had really thought it proper to hope for. So far, things were going his way. It was a nice feeling. A better feeling would incorporate a nice, soft bed, though. A few solid hours of silence to just pass out. A relatively soft desk and monotone teacher would serve just as well.

Unfortunately, the bell to get people to switch classes was loud and annoying as hell. Judai made a small, frustrated noise that told the people around him that he was in the mood to punch something. Possibly something that would make a loud noise when injured.

"So… what _did_ you talk to Johan about if you weren't… um…" Sho asked on the way to their next class.

"Oh, we were talking about his folks being a super-secret Mafia family and I was asking if I could come over to his house over the summer. He was saying it was too dangerous and I could get killed or something like that."

"Haha. Riiiiiiiiiiiiight. For a minute there, I thought you were serious, Aniki."

"I was."

"And I'm a CIA member."

"Shut up, Sho."

* * *

Johan's fingers fiddled with the front of his jacket, twisting the material back and forth. His mother made him nervous. He loved her, to be sure, but she had her moments. Actually, he had noticed that she had the tendency to make just about everyone around her nervous. There were a few exceptions, but most of those exceptions happened to be cold-blooded killers who had nothing but respect for the woman. Knowing that fact alone was usually enough to get people to be nervous around her, as they should be. Since Johan was her son, he knew a good deal more that would have the most emotionless man in the world breaking out in a cold sweat. He had no idea how his Mother was going to react when he asked her. Telling her he was gay had been enough of a minefield. Bringing the boyfriend home was going to be in an entirely different ballpark.

Johan dialed the number on his cell, praying that he would get her voicemail.

No such luck.

"Who are and how did you get this number, swine?"

"Hey, Mom."

"Oh, hi, honey! Sorry about that. Damn telemarketers have called me twice since noon."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Not half as sorry as the telemarketers were when I finished with them."

Johan swallowed, fingers playing over his jacket twice as fast. Unconsciously, he sought out a place on the campus that would provide a good defense in case of attack. He was pretty sure his Mum was in Italy, but that meant nothing. He suspected she could reach through the phone and take out whomever she chose. "Hey, uh, Mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"You… remember that I'm gay, right?"

Raucous laughter echoed from the receiver. "Pretty hard to forget, love!"

Johan shrugged off the implication and continued. "Well, here at Duel Academia, I sorta… kinda…"

"Either you met someone, or you aren't gay anymore."

"Er… the first one."

"Ooooooh! Good on you! Picked up a cutie already, huh?"

"Do you _have_ to make it sound like a booty call, Ma?!?!"

"Whoopsie. Sorry. Go ahead, Hon'."

Johan breathed deeply and forced himself to keep talking. "Well, I really, _really_ like him… and, I mean, he kind of got kidnapped temporarily by some guys out of Figli di Inferno **(3)** three months back and accidentally found out about Volontà del Dio…"**(4)**

"He WHAT?!?!?!"

"I'm sorry, Ma! It wasn't my fault, I swear! The Figli squealed, not me!" Johan lied.

His mother cursed in Italian. "Boy, what is it exactly that you're asking?"

"I was thinking… since he kind of is already in the thick of things… well, he kind of wants to come home with me over summer break. His idea – I didn't really want him to come, considering what our house is like, but I told him that no matter what, it was still your decision in the end-"

"Of course he can come!"

Johan stood there, blinking his eyes and looking for all the world like a confused goldfish. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said he's more than welcome! If that's all you were asking, why didn't you say so, for heaven's sake? A little meet-the-parents venture, is it? Well, you go and tell him that we'll take him in as though he were our own child! Oh! – and tell him I'm very sorry to hear about that whole kidnapping thing – you're both going to have to tell me all the details so we can exact an appropriate revenge later. Was there anything else?"

"Er… no. That was it."

"Oh, okay. Love you dearly, sweetie."

"Love you too, Mom."

Johan hung up and slid down the nearby wall. He sat there for a solid seven minutes, trying to figure out what all had transpired. It was definitely a good thing that his Mother was in a good mood – otherwise she might've flayed him without waiting to hear any kind of explanation. It was always a good idea to avoid her on bad days. The frightening part was that his mother was very good at hiding her real emotions behind a mask; too often people had no idea it was a bad day until someone else learned it the hard way. Johan had taken a gamble and won. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, perhaps for hours, and began to breathe normally. He wondered, not for the first time, just how his mother would react upon meeting Judai. The woman had a habit of building people up to be more than they were. He smiled faintly. Judai, for certain, would be able to live up to his mother's expectations. After all, Judai was perfect.

* * *

Okay, guys! That was the first chapter! It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. It ought to be pretty obvious what this fic is going to be about by now. I hope that people enjoy it, I really do. It's been a while since I posted anything, and now that I have easier classes (Bio, P.E., Arts & Crafts, and Drawing – REALLY easy classes) I can do a spot of work here and there on fics. Between this one and the Shaman King fic, I'm gonna be swamped, unfortunately. Well, I'm going to cross my fingers and hope for the best. Forgive any grammar or spelling mistakes in here. I caught what I could, but I really need a good beta while my sister is away at college.

**(1) Love's unkind** – It's a Donna Summer song, if memory serves. Or at the very least, she did a great rendition of it. In this case, I felt that it was a very appropriate song for a disclaimer – "Cause he's not mine."

**(2) **"**Yes'm, yes'm, three bags full," he murmured, almost falling asleep again. – **Remember that old nursery rhyme, "Baa baa, Black Sheep"? Well, here it is. I actually use that phrase a lot. It pisses off the teachers when they remember what it's from.

**(3) Figlo di Inferno** – roughly means "sons of Hell" in Italian. Correct me if I'm wrong.

**(4) Volontà del Dio** – roughly means "God's will" in Italian. Once again, I could be wrong. I'm a Latin student, not an Italian student. They don't even OFFER Italian at my school. I'd take Russian or Japanese if I could, but they don't offer those, either.

Love to you all.

Review fast or die slow.


	2. Planet Z by Idina Menzel

I am so crazy sorry, guys. Honest to Jesus, I was going to write more for this speedy-quick, and then… I didn't. God damn. I don't know how it happened, but second semester was suddenly done before I knew it, and I hadn't updated this thing once. Gasp! I was rereading some of my old fics and laughing at the terrible writing (or the occasional brilliant line) when I reread this. I read just the one chapter and said to myself… My God. Why the hell didn't I continue this? It's starting off well enough; why didn't I get off my arse and_ work_? I couldn't come up with an answer to save my life, so here we are. Meh. To summarize, sorry for the pointless wait. I love you; you know that, right?

DISCLAIMER: [sings] Jesus hates me, this I know,

'Cause I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh~

* * *

Judai bit into his mitarashi dango, grinning madly. Before classes began, he'd managed to weasel a promise out of Johan to call his mother and see if an impromptu summer visit was welcome or not. The boy wondered vaguely if Johan would remain true to his promise on his own, or if Judai was going to have to force him to stick to it. He wasn't sure which idea appealed best to him.

"Hey, Judai. Judaaaaaai?"

"Hmm?" Judai said.

"Could you pass the plate of mitarashi before you end up inhaling them all?" Sho asked.

Judai laughed and briefly considered denying the much smaller boy his request, just for fun, before deciding that such a spiteful action befit a four-year-old much more than it did him. He passed the plate.

"Thanks."

"'r welcome," Judai managed to say around a mouthful of mitarashi. Just then, a loud knocking resounded on the door to the Slifer dormitories. The girl closest to the door opened it and let out an excited shriek, melting into a pile of fangirl goo.

"Sounds like Johan's here. Either that, or my brother is dropping in for some reason," Sho muttered. Judai nodded.

The former turned out to be true. Johan stepped over the Slifer fangirl goop and proceeded to bend down by his lover's cross-legged position on the floor. "Hey, I've got an update for you," he said, smiling shyly. "When you've got a moment, could you drop by the Obelisk dorms?"

Judai gave his daft boyfriend a patronizing look. "Hon', you really need to start learning. There's no situation, any time, any place, that cannot be sacrificed for time with you. Come on; let's go." Johan smiled and every girl in earshot sighed at the simple romanticism of the statement. The boys looked like they were pointedly ignoring the exchange. Some were _actually_ used to it, some just pretended to not notice.

Once outside in the slightly overly warm summer air, Judai turned his head to his boyfriend. "Soooo… did you call her?"

"I did, right around lunch time." Judai looked mildly surprised at the other boy's speedy response to his request.

"And?"

Johan flashed that shy, nervous grin again. "She sounded delighted and said she didn't mind in the least if you came. Hell, I think if you decided to cancel at the last minute, she'd probably personally find you and drag you over."

"That's great!" Judai whooped, smiling so widely, his face hurt. "See, moron, I told you she'd be cool with it! What were you so worried about, anyway?"

"Hey, you never know whether she's gonna be in a good mood or a bad mood. This time we got lucky; she sounded like she was in a good mood."

Judai hooked an arm around Johan's waist thoughtfully. "Well, what makes your Mom pissy? I'll just do my best to avoid that stuff?"

Johan sighed. "It's not that simple. Half the stuff that gets her angry on a bad day, she takes in stride on a good day. You can almost never tell with her, you know? Oh! There _are_ a few things that she'll like no matter what. Like chocolate. Or chicken. Chips. Junk food in general, really. She's got a soft spot for grapes, too. And weird blends of fruit juices. She also really loves Broadway, the ballet, stuff like that. And she'll never miss her detective shows on the television."

"So, she's basically a teenaged girl?" Judai asked.

"Uh-huh. Personally, I think most older women are exactly the same as they were when they were younger. Either that, or when they were younger, they were already fully grown in their minds."

Judai laughed. "I'd stick with the second one in conversations, so long as your attached to your extremities and all." Johan laughed along with him at that.

"I also get the feeling that she'd like you no matter what," he said. "I can't think of a single person who doesn't right now, at least." The younger boy blushed and smiled shyly at his feet. It was too adorable. Johan couldn't resist. He leaned over and kissed Judai slowly.

When they parted, both were still smiling. "Do you really think she'll like me?" Judai asked.

"If she's really related to me in any way, shape, or form, she'll _love_ you."

* * *

"An' tha's the size of it," Jim said, grinning.

"I… don't even want to ASK how you know this kinda shit," O'Brien muttered, rubbing his forehead, trying fruitlessly the stave off the oncoming headache. "What, do you _stalk_ them or something?"

"'s called occasional e'vesdroppin', mate. Tha's ha'dlly stalking."

O'Brien breathed deeply. "So… Judai is going to Johan's place over the summer. So what? Isn't it pretty normal for people to go and… I don't know, meet the folks, or something?"

"Ye can't tell me you're not int'rested," Jim said, raising his visible eyebrow. "It's the Mafia fo' Chrissakes! If you're lookin' fo' somethin' more int'restin' than that, I daresay you'll be disappointed with what the w'rld 'as to offer!"

"I just can't say I'm the nosy type. I like to leave people to their own business. Is that so wrong?"

"Yes. Right cr'minal, that is," Jim muttered.

"Listen, Aussie boy. Just leave the two of them alone. They've got more than enough on their plates without you interfering – _again_."

Jim sighed, glaring at the shorter boy, but eventually gave in under that piercing, coldly logical stare. Good thing there were loopholes around to keep him company.

* * *

Vera Andersen grinned to herself. So her little boy was bringing the fabled Judai home? Now, of course, Johan didn't _know_ that his mother knew of Judai, but then, if she allowed him to withhold such important information from her, what kind of mother would she be? She checked his internet listings and went through his books and journals. She also had tapped his cell phone years ago, when she first bought the thing for him. Frankly, she was surprised her son hadn't noticed it yet. She needed to have a stern talk with him one of these days about being more vigilant. He just wasn't _careful_ enough, and that worried her. Vera smiled. Well, perhaps the boyfriend could help with that. From what all she'd read and/or heard, Judai sounded like the perfect motivator to get her lazy son off his rear end and do something. She giggled.

"Vera? You alright?" asked Cyrano. The most tightly-knit of the Family had opted for card games with dinner that night, seeing as not a single one of them ever had the attention span to just sit quietly and eat. Tonight they were playing Hand-and-Foot, **(1)** a game which required there be partners. Cyrano had the honour of being the Boss's partner this particular round, while the were playing against Falco and Lucien. Most of the others sat around the table and placed bets while drinking and eating. Since today was a confirmed good day for their boss, the atmosphere was a light and happy one.

"Hmm?"

Cyrano sighed. "I asked if you were alright. You started laughing, and some of us get a little worried for your sanity when you cackle like a madwoman and don't really have an explanation for it." Vera smiled indulgently at the hulk of a man as though he were a three-year-old she had met on the street.

"Dear Cyrano, I was just contemplating my son's latest bout of wonderfulness."

"Is that so?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, humming. "The boy's found himself a proper boyfriend at last. I was starting to wonder if he'd lied to me about being gay when he called this morning and asked if it was all right for him to bring the boy over this summer break." The others didn't know she'd tapped her son's phone, nor did they have any need to know, so Vera neglected to mention that the boyfriend was old news.

"Good for him!" Falco said, meaning it. "You know, I was always so shocked that I'd never seen Johan with anybody before. With his looks and talent, you'd think he'd score easy…" Lucien, being Falco's cousin, threw the ice from his drink at the other man's head.

"Do quit being dirty, o cousin of mine. If you have the hots for the Boss's kid, you'll have to fight the new nameless boyfriend for him." Falco gasped indignantly and returned fire with ice of his own. The battle ensued.

"Judai… Yuki Judai… That's the boy's name…" Vera blinked at her hand without seeing it, thinking hard. _Fight for him_… that… was it!

"EVERYONE! I HAVE A BRILLIANT IDEA!!!" Vera exclaimed, jumping up, but in her excitement still retaining the common sense necessary to hide her cards from prying eyes, not that anyone was looking. They were too busy exchanging looks. Whatever the Boss's 'brilliant idea' was, odds were it wasn't going to end well.

"We want only the best for my little boy, right?" Emphatic nodding. People genuinely did like Johan. He was a likable person by nature. "And if Judai-kun leaves my little boy in the dirt, we'd have to kill him, but my boy would still be heartbroken, right?" More nodding. "So here's the plan: we see just how dedicated Judai-kun is before we go handing over Johan-kun's heart, all right? We make up a bunch of tests, pretend like we don't like him, and make him prove himself – and prove how much he actually loves my boy! So whaddya think?"

"And… this is to keep Johan's heart from getting broken in the end?" Cyrano said, looking skeptical.

"Of course!"

"What if… Judai-kun, did you say? – What if he doesn't pass the tests?"

"Oh, that won't happen," Vera said carelessly, waving a hand. "Judai-kun's head over heels for Johan. He won't lose; not if he can help it."

"Umm… ma'am? How precisely would you know this?"

Vera glared at the speaker. "I'm fucking psychic, you prat. Now get me straight here. I suppose it's not half so much about actually testing him as messing with him. This might give him an idea of my par_tic_ular brand of humour. Now," she said, rocking back in her chair, "I don't know about you, but I'm already in my Foot. I may well go out before another three turns have passed me by, so I'd work on whittling my Hand down if I were you."

And that decided the matter.

* * *

"And that's all! Have a wonderful summer, students! To our seniors: congratulations and good luck! To our other students: I will see you next year! Goodbye!" Chancellor Samejima said merrily, waving to the huge congregation of students as they began to surge towards the doors in the back of the auditorium, and subsequently, to the docks, where the boats were waiting to take them all home for the summer.

Johan had to hold tightly to Judai to keep from losing him in the over-abundance of humanity streaming around them. "Judai! Please slow down!" he screamed out.

"Sorry, no can do! If you slow down now, you'll get trampled on by the stampede!" Judai yelled back. Or, at least, that was what Johan _thought_ he heard.

Johan contented himself with being a human hacky-sack until they were out of the building.

"Okay, so what time's our flight?" asked Judai as they climbed onto one of the statue pedestals to escape the still oncoming surge of teenagers. Johan yanked a timetable out of his shirt and peered around the paper.

"According to this, our flight's in four hours. We still need to hurry like hell if we wanna get through customs and all that annoying stuff and still have a bit of time left to catch our breath," Johan said.

"Okay," Judai said, grinning madly. "Shouldn't be too much of a problem." He gestured to the flow of homo sapiens. "Wanna?"

Johan caught the drift. "Sure. We've little to lose, aside from a limb or two."

They grabbed onto one another's hands, took a deep breath, screamed, "CANNONBALL!" at the top of their lungs, and jumped directly into the human stampede.

About seven minutes later, the pair managed to get to the Slifer dorm, panting heavily.

"Missing anything?" Judai asked, once he was able to get the words out.

Johan actually felt the need to check. "Nah. Nothing that can't be reattached, at any rate."

"Great. Now let's grab our bags and go, 'kay?"

"Oh, come on! Gimme a chance to _live_ for a moment, please?" The taller boy clutched a stitch in his as he slid down the wall to hit the floor with a soft _thump_. Judai shook his head, laughing softly, but conceded. He sat down beside his boyfriend, the two leaning instinctively towards the other. Johan chuckled weakly. Judai relished the sound. "You're going to enjoy this a lot, aren't you?"

"More than you could ever know," Judai said. "Thanks for being cool with my little whims." He leaned over and kissed the other boy. It wasn't particularly deep, just a simplistic, sweet, but no less passionate, thank-you. Instead of pulling away altogether, they kept their foreheads touching.

"I'd give in to any of your 'little whims', so long as you take to thanking me like _that_," Johan said into his lover's lips. He didn't see it, but he could feel the smile.

"Well then, I'll have to come up with a whim or two to meet the demand, now won't I?"

* * *

I'm seriously realizing now that I have no freaking idea when the hell this is supposed to take place. MY TIMELINE DOES NOT EXIST. If Haou is there, then shouldn't Ryo NOT be still in school? And shouldn't Sho be in the corramn Ra Yellow dorms by now, not eating with Judai at the Slifer dorms? The hell?!?!?!?! I DON'T KNOW. You know what? I'm just gonna pretend like this is a parallel universe in which I dictate which parts of the story I want to keep and which parts would take away from the story and must therefore be hidden from the eyes of man. I have decreed this, and so shall it be.

**(1) Hand-and-Foot – **I was kinda hoping I wouldn't have to explain this one, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I should. I'll give you the watered down version, though, since I don't have the time or the patience to talk about ALL the rules. It's almost identical to Canasta, except that instead of everyone drawing from one deck, everyone gets two decks to pull from: and Hand and a Foot. You use your Hand first. When you run out of cards in your Hand, you move on to your Foot, which you keep face-down on the table until the time comes to use it. Once you are rid of your Foot, you have gone out. Points are tallied up to determine the winner at that point. Because of partner-up thing, unfortunately, even if you have a billion freaking points, if you go out at an un-advantageous time for your partner, you can still lose. Bad deal, huh? Because of this, for the most part, only strongly in-synch people pair up. It's much easier to read a person's body language when you know the person really well.

All right, all right. Y'all know the drill. Review fast or die slow.


	3. Goodnight and Go by Imogen Heap

Okay, folks, here we are again! Another update? Shit, naw, couldn't be. Not from _me_.

Seriously, though, I kind of want to keep up the pace from YWFR. That was the first fic that actually went that fast, and I miss the feeling of being able to crank out a chapter a day. It was kind of cool, if exhausting. Also, thank you very much for the feedback on the last chapter! I hadn't really expected that big of a response, considering the, er, half-a-year gap… ^^;

DISCLAIMER: Nadeshiko es no mi aqui. Me llamo te _Juan_. JUAN!! No sue me, plzkthx!!!! Me no own.

* * *

The plane rides – since of course they'd had to plane-hop to make it the entire distance – had been boring as all get out, considering the many hours each one took. Poor Judai also had only been on a plane once, when he was very young, so he didn't remember to chew gum to keep his ears from popping.

When they finally pushed wearily out of the last flight into the Italian terminal, both boys were more than ready to just find a place to collapse. They found a few seats propped up against the wall and promptly fell into them.

"Someone's supposed to be meeting us, but I don't remember where," Johan muttered sleepily.

"D'you have a cell number for 'im or something?" Judai said.

"Probably. Somewhere. I don't want to get up, though."

"Then let me root around in your bag. I wanna get to a real bed." Johan obliged to some degree, nudging his bag over to the boy next to him with a toe. Judai, with a great show of effort, bent over and yanked it up onto his lap. After rooting around for a few minutes, he found what he was looking for: Johan's cell phone. He scrolled through the contacts list, smiling a bit when he saw that he was number 1 on the list.

"What's the guy's name, anyway?"

Johan looked up tiredly. "Lucien and Falco are supposed to be picking us up. Lucien never turns on his damn phone, so call Falco."

"Got it." Judai punched in the number, including the area code out of uncertainty. A cell phone not ten meters from the two boys began ringing in a shrill, polyphonic version of the song 'Bodybag' by Hit the Lights. The owner jumped a little, but fished it out of his pocket right quick enough.

"Falco here. Whatever you're selling/endorsing, I'm not interested."

Judai smiled. "Um, hello. Sorry, but could you turn around about a good 170 degrees, there?"

Falco looked momentarily confused, then turned the appropriate amount and caught sight of the pair. His face lit up. He tugged on the sleeve of the taller man with him, grinning and pointing. The other man, presumably Lucien, looked up and smiled as well. Judai waved cheerily. Johan twitched his hand in something that was probably supposed to be a wave, but failed miserably.

Judai took in everything he could about the two people now approaching. The shorter one, Falco, had a mop of hair that could've been either light brown or light red. It was impossible to make a distinction. He had laughing bright green eyes and tanned skin that was only marred by the diagonal scar across his left cheek and the numerous scars adorning his hands. All told, in a dress suit, the smaller of the two was downright adorable.

Lucien, on the other hand, seemed far too business-like for a word like 'adorable', even though he looked much like his cousin. Lucien's hair was chestnut coloured and long enough to be pulled back in a messy ponytail. He wore black-rimmed glasses that darkened his whole face. He had no scars showing, but a good chunk of his right ear was missing. Judai tried very hard not to look at it.

Falco walked more quickly than his bigger relative. He fell into the chair beside Judai, promptly turning to face the boy fully. "So, you're Yuki Judai-kun, right?"

Unnerved by the sudden (not to mention FAR too cheerful) confrontation, Judai blinked awkwardly. "Um, yes? I… I take it you're Falco-san?"

"Ah! He knows my name! I don't suppose you know this hulking idiot's name?" he asked. Lucien shot him a look, but didn't protest the label.

"Lucien-san, is it?"

Lucien smiled. "Pleasure to meet you. If I'm correct, you must be absolutely exhausted. We can get you home within twenty minutes if we step on it a little."

"Thank Jesus," Johan breathed. "Thank you so much, guys. I'll be more sociable in the morning… or afternoon, or… whatever time I wake up tomorrow. Jet-lag is a bitch."

"You're welcome, sir. Do you need help standing?"

Both boys laughed at that. "Naw. It's not like I'm some sort of lush stumbling home, y'know."

Falco's face took on a mischievous tint. "Better not be. Your Ma would flay you if she found out you'd been drinking. You're still underage, aren't you?"

"I _haven't_ been drinking! Isn't that what I just said?!?!" Johan gasped, fully awake at the idea of a belligerent Mother to be dealing with.

"Hahaha… I'm just messin' with you. Come on, if you want to pass out any time soon."

* * *

The car, unexpectedly, had smelled vaguely of licorice and had been very comfortable. Judai had been a little sorry to have to get out of it, but the thought of a real bed eventually convinced him of the need to be temporarily vertical. Johan had fallen asleep in the car, predictably.

"Need some help with him?" Falco asked. Judai nodded his thanks as Falco helped support Johan's other side as they got out of the car. "So… how long have you two been going out?"

Judai smiled. "Hard to put a number on it, really. Pretty much from the first day he showed up at Duel Academia, we didn't really give each other an inch to breathe. He always hung out in my dorm instead of Obelisk dorms. Apparently, there were too many stuck-up assholes in his dorm, or something like that." Falco laughed, giving Judai courage (and consciousness) to continue. "Then one day, somebody said it was almost like we were dating. We took the idea and ran with it, I suppose. It just fit the whole relationship so well, there wasn't even really an awkward stage with the whole, 'Is he gay too?', 'He'll never love me back', 'I'm all emo and angsty in this corner over here' thing. I'll admit I'm grateful for that. I don't even think we've ever been on what can be construed as a real date. I said it before, and I'll say it again: We never give each other time to breathe, so it's like every minute of every day is part of one gigantic, on-going date. Does that sound corny as hell to you?"

Falco shook his head, then realised that Judai probably wouldn't have seen it, as dark as it was. "Nah. If anything, I'm kind of jealous of you guys. Er, well, not _that_ way, but… just… it seems too easy."

"Easy?" Judai thought back to the numerous forces of evil that had tried to off both him and Johan before. He didn't think 'easy' was the proper word for those particular encounters.

"Yeah. It's like you two, as a couple, haven't ever really had any hardships to overcome. No awkward asking-the-other-out stage – you said it yourself. Just what _have_ you guys gone through, if anything?"

Judai frowned. The words rang a bit true. There was no doubt in his heart or mind that he absolutely loved Johan… but, Falco's words made a lot of sense, too. "We've had a falling out, even if it was only one."

Falco seemed interested. "Oh, really now? What over?"

"I was being a little bit of a whore and Johan got to thinking that that was all there was to me," Judai said.

"Ouch." Falco at least had the decency to wince in sympathy. "How'd you get over that one?"

"I didn't really know why he was angry at me, so I was all childish and was… er, mean… right back. Eventually, he got up the _cajones_ to tell me what was wrong. I chewed him out for ever thinking something that stupid, and we sort of made up. Didn't really take that long for me to forgive him. I just wish he'd spoken up sooner. A week of that crap and he still wouldn't tell me!" It began to occur to Judai that perhaps his new Mafia friend wouldn't appreciate him talking smack about the Boss's son. "I still love him, though."

"That's so like Johan!" Falco said, laughing. Apparently, it didn't bother him that much. "He used to have these fits when he was really little, but he was always way too shy to say what was wrong! Once, he refused to eat any and all kinds of meat for a month before we realised that it was because he was trying to turn vegetarian after he'd made friends with one of the dairy cows and thought she'd be slaughtered for food! A _month_ he said nothing!" Judai laughed. It really did sound like just the sort of thing his stupid (but cute) lover would do.

"Hang on, lemme get the key," Falco muttered, trying to support Johan while digging around in his back pocket. Without realising it, they had arrived at the front door.

The twin doors were impressive things, towering a good five meters in the air and made of what might've been oak with inlays of some other kind of lighter-coloured wood that Judai couldn't begin to name. They were such beautiful things. The house they were attached to was not so much a house as what Judai would describe as a sprawling _castle_. Shit. He'd known Johan had money, but… this was a bit over the top. Strike that. Make that _absurdly_ over the top.

"Crap. Hey Lucien?"

"Yes?" Judai jumped. He'd forgotten that the larger man was there.

"D'you have the house key? Mine's gone mysteriously missing."

"You really need to double check that you have everything BEFORE you leave the house, Falco. That may serve you well one of these days. I've got mine, but don't expect me to just hand it over next time. You'll be on your own then," Lucien said.

"Thanks. You're a real pal," Falco said.

Judai heard the muffled _click_ of the lock mechanism and heard the louder squeal of one of the mammoth doors swinging outward just enough to permit each member of the party.

"Well? Are you going to move, or are you going to gawk like a tourist, Judai-kun? Hmm?"

"Can I gawk?" Judai said without really thinking about it.

"Hahaha… no. Come on."

"'Kay."

* * *

Judai didn't remember very much of anything else that had happened that night. He didn't remember going through assorted hallways, going through secret passageways, elevators, and other various places. He didn't remember ending up at Johan's room, where Lucien dumped their respective suitcases and bags inside, followed by the two of them saying that they wouldn't mind a bit of sleep themselves and leaving the two boys to their own devices. He didn't remember anything about Johan's room, though he must've looked around at some point in time. He didn't remember trying to get the bigger boy's unconscious body up onto the bed, which was annoyingly high off the ground, or then climbing into bed without changing his clothes or brushing his teeth (eww) and passing out himself.

As it was, he woke up a bit before noon in a dazed state. Judai tried to blink his eyes open, but blinking just encouraged his eyes to stay closed. He settled for staring blankly at the ceiling. Eventually, he began looking around the room. The bed was smack-dab in the middle of the room, the headboard hitting dead-center on one of the walls. Normally, such placement would've made the room appear much smaller and cramped. Johan's room, however, felt open and breezy. Unlike most of the splendor in the rest of the house (_castle_, as Judai adamantly thought about it), this room was only slightly larger than normal, instead of gargantuan. Most of the colours in the room were pastels, and most of those were of the blue-green variety. Various dueling posters that were somewhat outdated adorned the walls, along with knickknacks that held little meaning for Judai, but probably had long, complicated, wonderful stories behind each one. He was looking forward to wheedling the details out of Johan when the other boy got around to waking up.

There were a bunch of pieces of furniture that didn't interest Judai much, like the dresser or the small chest at the foot of the bed. Taking up more than two-thirds of a wall was a bookcase that was half full of dueling magazines, books, and old newspapers, half full of other books that Judai hadn't read. Hell, most of the real books there looked like they were in foreign languages! Sure, Judai wasn't much of a book person, but he felt no shame in admitting that he'd probably never spare a second glance for the bookshelf. Some things caught his eyes, like the sporadically placed shelves adorned with miscellaneous curios. On one shelf there were a few childish drawings of the Gem Beasts that Judai found absolutely adorable. Part of another wall was taken up by a stained glass door, which probably led out onto a veranda. The door was a work of art in and of itself, each of the Gem Beasts having been rendered into stunning glass form. Each twist and curve caught the noon-day light and held it perfectly without being bright enough to blind morning eyes into opening against their will. But what held his attention most of all was the only clean horizontal surface in the entire room: a table in one corner of the room that looked to be about 5 feet long and 3 feet wide. It was a dueling table, with painted outlines for each kind of card to be played. The table itself was a brilliant, eye-smarting shade of aqua, which Judai rather thought resembled Johan's eyes. In order to get a better look, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and began to totter his way over to the table when a very loud knock on the door made him jump.

Judai hurried over to the door, trying to fix his hair, but, in the absence of a mirror, failing miserably.

He opened the door to see a man, easily seven feet tall and then some, towering over him.

"Umm… g-good morning?" he said.

"Good morning, Yuki-san," the man said. His voice was low and oppressive – rather what you would expect from a man of that stature. "I have a message from the Boss to deliver. I would not expect Andersen-sama to be awake as of yet?"

"Er-uh, no, he's not up yet. Should I give this to hi-"

"The message is for you. Please heed it well. The Boss does not appreciate being kept waiting." And with that, the man handed Judai a small paper, turned on his heels, and walked away. Judai, with a supremely confused look on his face, closed the door and looked at the folded bit of paper in his hand. What the hell?

Johan pried himself up, seemingly woken up by the noise. "Huh? Wazzat?" he muttered, still not fully awake.

"Hell if I know." Judai walked over and sat down on the bed, unfolding it. His eyes scanned it quickly. It… still made no sense to him.

"What's it say?" Johan asked.

"Apparently, your Ma wants me to come meet her in half an hour in the 'Audience Room', whatever that is," Judai said. "'Under pain of Death' and everything."

Johan yawned. "Ah, she ends all her letters that way. She thinks it's bad luck or something not to threaten death at least once in every letter she writes. I don't know. I'll go with you, seeing as you'd probably get lost around here…" He yawned again as he tried to stand up. "But first, we're gonna need to change clothes. There's no way we're going to be comfortable in the same clothes we slept in last night."

Johan went through a third door that Judai hadn't even noticed into a private bathroom to change. Judai stayed on the bed, staring uncomfortably at the letter. It was oddly impersonal a thing, and the phrasing made the whole thing sound ominous. Almost as ominous as the messenger himself. Maybe… maybe Johan's mother wasn't going to be as happy too see the new boyfriend as Johan had thought.

Maybe today was the infamous 'bad day', and maybe Judai was already on her bad side.

* * *

(A/N) I haven't proofread any of this. Please don't judge me for crappy grammar or phrasing errors. I'll fix them in the morning when I don't feel ill or tired.

I haven't made much progress in my chapters, now have I? I'm one for the annoying imagery, I know. I promise, next chapter, something'll bloody well get done. I feel kind of bad for Judai, though. He's going to get a lot of crap thrown his way. I also kind of don't want to write a mean Vera. I like her. She's crazy enough to be likable, even if she is something of an OC. I hadn't even really thought about her character at all until I realised that I had to name her. Oops. Originally, I was thinking that her real name should be unknown the whole way through. Her alias is Verruckt Andersen. 'Verruckt' is German for 'crazy' or 'nuts', so I figured it suited her pretty well. The word 'verruckt', on the other hand, is not a pretty word on paper, even though the pronunciation is kind of nice-sounding. So, I decided that her nickname would be Vera. 'Vera' actually sounds a bit like the German pronunciation in the first place, so it's not that far of a stretch.

GAH! I ranted. Baka Nade-chan.

I really hope you like this chapter. Speedy update, huh? That's gotta count for something, right?

Review fast or die slow, loves.


	4. You'll Find a Way by Santogold

Well, balls. Two years. TWO DAMN YEARS. Someone punch me.

Sorry I took this long, tho'. There goes that 'chap a day' plan.

DISCLAIMER: I fully acknowledge that I am a cheating lying hellion, but that's no reason to believe that I'd actually steal something like the commercial enterprise for Yu-Gi-Oh!. Jesus.

* * *

Both boys had changed into new clothes, ones that weren't hideously rumpled. Judai had been a bit unsure of where to put his dirty clothes, but Johan had assured him that the best course of action would be to just toss them on the floor somewhere.

Johan closed the door to his room behind them, turning to smile at Judai. "Alright. Here we go?" He tugged on Judai's hand, but the brunet boy held back. "Hm? Judai, what's wrong? You okay?"

"Um, yeah. I'm just a little hungry," Judai lied, faking a smile.

Johan saw clean through it. "You'll be fine, love. Mum's not exactly a fire-breathing dragon, you know."

"That's not the way I've heard it told," Judai muttered.

The taller boy shook his head in mock defeat. First making sure that there was no one in the hall, he leaned over and gently pressed a kiss to his lover's lips, leaving a small, true smile in his wake.

"If you're really hungry, we've got enough to feed a small army or two. Let's go." When Judai made a small face, Johan gave him a look. "Okay, if food's not going to fix it, what will?"

"Johan, nothing's –" Johan raised an eyebrow. Nothing more. "Fine," Judai sighed. "I've just got a bad gut feeling. Like seeing a huge shadow on the ground right before you turn around and see the bear, you know?"

"I thought you were Mister Confident before," Johan said.

"Well, nothing lasts forever," he muttered. "Speaking of which, do you know where we're even going?"

"I should," Johan said, "given that I live here."

"'Should' is not a word that inspires unerring confidence, Johan."

"Relax. You said the Audience Room, right? That's just Ma's fancy term for the dining room when all the crap's cleared off the table. Normally the thing is swamped with paperwork because, apparently, desks are for cleaning firearms and dining tables are for your taxes. Eating can be done on the floor if you're that determined."

"Is it just me, or is your mother really… _particular_ about things?"

"That's about the size of it. She's got her quirks. And funny you should phrase it that way. 'Particular' is precisely the word she uses when she's describing those quirks to others. Aaaaaaand, here we are." They had halted in front of large French doors leading into what genuinely did seem like an Audience Room. Through the glass, Judai couldn't help but mentally gape at the 10-yard-long oak table with ornate chairs lining each side. At the head of the table was a much larger chair a good foot higher off the ground than the others with a portion of the table raised the same distance accordingly. Here sat a woman with her head down, engrossed in whatever was on her plate.

Before Judai had a moment to get his bearings and remove the dumb look on his face, Johan had pushed the door open, calling, "Hey Mum! Good to see you! If you popped in last night and I was out cold, sorry. I don't even remember arriving, to be frank."

The woman's head jerked up, an expression of mild happiness on her face. She was a beauty who greatly resembled her son. Her hair was a lighter shade of blue than her offspring's, and her eyes were somewhat more upturned and silver, but she otherwise was precisely what Judai might've expected her to look like. As she stood, it became apparent that she had some meat on her bones. That or, Judai thought with a gulp, she was packing some interesting weaponry under her loose shirt. She certainly moved like a woman with concealed weapons. All he could think was that it was a good call that she hadn't come to meet them at the airport personally if she indeed brought dangerous things with her all the time.

Heedless of Judai's suspicions, Vera sauntered over to her son and pulled him into a hug, kissing the top of his head with some effort, as she was painfully short. "So good to see you home, honey. You've been away far too long and your mother's getting tired of having to do all the chores herself."

"Of course," Johan said, eyes rolling, "you only had children so they could be cheap manual labour. I feel loved."

"As well you should," she said, patting his cheek. She abruptly turned to Judai, eyes sharpening in an instant. "So, this is the boy we've heard not-altogether-much-about?"

Before Judai could get a word out, Johan cut in. "Yes! Mother, this is Yuki Judai. Judai, this is Verruckt Andersen, or just Vera, as she prefers."

"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Judai said.

"You, as well," she said coolly. "But there's a matter that must be discussed."

"Pardon?" Johan coughed out.

"Oh, my naïve little bairn, are you really that dippy that you thought we were going to let him into the family without the slightest bit of insurance? Also, coincidentally, I am extremely disappointed in you that you didn't let me know when you first started dating. And you should pay more attention and call me on it when I tap your cell phone."

Judai was a bit dazed. "You… you tapped his phone?"

"Yes," she said absently. "I planned on catching him looking up porn and instead I catch a boyfriend. How odd."

"_Mother_!" Johan blurted. "I don't look up porn on my phone!"

"Then where _do_ you look it up?" Judai asked.

Johan spluttered for a few seconds. "Be – besides, I already knew you did that, Mom! I just… I just figured it'd be easier if I didn't have to go through awkward conversations to keep you in the loop."

"Right, dear, keep telling yourself that. But you're all of you missing the point. Judai, whether I've tapped the shit out of my son's conversations or not, I still don't know you and I'm hardly going to hand over my son to someone I don't know or trust. You have to earn my regard, and until then, you're not permitted anywhere near my family."

"…Mother, this isn't funny," Johan said. "You've gone a bit far."

"Oh, I don't think I've gone very far at all. Aren't you going to say something, Judai? Hardly seems right that a man should let someone else argue his battles for him."

Judai took a deep breath and let it out. "Just how am I supposed to go about earning your trust, then?"

"Judai! What the – Mother, what the hell is going on here?" Johan sounded not a little panicked at this point. "Mom, I thought you said you'd love to meet him! Where in the shit did _this_ come from?"

"From a momma's need to protect her baby's heart, dear," she said, eyes still locked on Judai.

"Perfectly understandable, ma'am," Judai said.

"It's not understandable at all!" Johan yelped. "Stop saying that!"

The older woman smiled thinly. "Mister Yuki, I don't trust people who are only worthy when someone points out to them that they should be. I have two requests of you, although it might be best that you not mistake them for favours. Firstly," her eyes narrowed, "my son dropped off the face of the Earth for several weeks a good few months ago. I'd like to know what happened and what part you played in it. I was given an official released version, but it stank of lies and governmental cover-ups. From it, I managed to glean your involvement, but not much else. I refuse to be kept in the dark. And I also will be questioning you two separately to make sure your stories are consistent. I will not be lied to, either. If I think your actions were at any point unsatisfactory, you will be taken outside and shot."

"Understood. The second?" Judai asked.

"Mom, I was going to get around to telling you, I really was, there's no need to –"

"Johan, not now, dear. The second is a requirement that you can work under pressure at achieve the task at hand, as well as proving that you are in possession of at least a handful of IQ points. There are two sneaks in this house that I do not recall inviting. You are tasked with locating them, incapacitating them, and bringing them directly to me." She grinned wolfishly. "I'll take care of the rest."

"Are there photographs of them, or surveillance footage?"

"Yes," said Vera.

"…May I have them?" Judai asked.

"No." Vera looked absolutely delighted to deliver the line. "You'll have to figure out who they are by your lonesome. Although, I must say, it should be easy, considering you ought to recognise them both."

At that, Judai's forced calm slipped. "Huh? What the hell does that mean?"

"You'll find out. When you find them, you are to knock them unconscious. I'm granting you use of these flash grenades and this – " she handed Judai what looked to be a massive gun, " – is to be used for the takedown. Don't worry; they're all beanbag rounds. I'll not have you ruining my home on the off chance you're a shitty shot. I don't think it needs to be said that if you hit one of my friends around the house, being that they are mostly Mafiosi, they might kill you. It might even be an accident, given how jumpy some of them are." She giggled, and the sound was downright unnatural. "I'm giving you until dinner, at which point we'll reconvene here and you'll get around to telling me the story from a few months ago. Is that fair?"

Judai's head was spinning, but he nodded anyway.

"Marvellous! Let the hunt begin!"

* * *

Jim and O'Brien had Frequent Flier Miles out their ears and saw fit to use them for some heckling. It seemed Jim was inordinately excited to be visiting Italy and considered the whole thing to a wonderful tourist-y adventure, whereas O'Brien would be content to get in, laugh and Johan, and get the hell out. He was the worst tourist ever, as Jim had informed him multiple times already.

"Suppose Johan gets one good look at us and slams the damn door in our faces? What then?" he asked.

"Tsk-tsk, pessimistic as evah, ahn't we?" Jim said, digging around his massive duffel bag. "And ya always think I don't come prepahed, don't ya? Well, joke's on you, Debbie Downah." He unearthed a huge folded object that appeared to be some coarse cloth.

"Is that…" O'Brien began.

"Yep. Sho' is. I expect you've no problems with sleepin' out undah the stahs, should our accommodation plans fall through?"

"None at all," O'Brien said instantly. "But on the other hand, did you see that damn house o' his?"

"You mean the fo'tress?" Jim snorted. "Not sho' I saw much else. Damn thing takes up 'alf the ruttin' countryside."

"Fortress? I was thinking castle, personally."

"Nah; no turrets. Or a moat, fo' that mattah."

"But when they get around to getting a proper moat, the alligator will be here ahead of time for their convenience, is that right?"

Jim guffawed loudly. "Ol' Karen-girl'd keep e'erybody out, wouldn't she now? Well, most of 'em! She might be takin' a bit o' them with 'er!"

"I thought you said she was vegetarian?" O'Brien asked, trying to mask the hint of worry.

"Jus' because you don't eat humans don't mean you cahn't kill 'em when yer throwin' a wobbly." **(1)**

"How 'bout this? I pretend I know what the hell you just said, and we get away from the part of the conversation where Karen could decide to dismember me in the middle of the night just 'cause she's pissed."

"Why would Karen be drinkin'? She's not 21, yet."

"You know what? Screw it. Are we going to go ring the damn doorbell and take our chances, or what?"

Jim played with an earlobe before speaking. "I've a bettah idea. Doo'bells are fo' quittahs, not fine trackahs like ourselves."

"Meaning…"

"Let's sneak in, eh? _Mission: Impossible_ style. Find Johan's room, drop in, ruin an evenin'… sounds like a solid plan!"

"Except for the part where we get lynched by the Italian Mafia. Great plan, but I like having just the one asshole. No need to go collecting more from gangsters who shoot first and ask questions later," O'Brien said.

"Oh, come off 't. This is Johan's _house_. Who's going ta be shootin' us? 'is mum? What's next, Judai hittin' us wit' flash grenades? Tomorrow-Girl carpet-bombin' us? Load o' bollocks, that is."

O'Brien pinched the bridge of his prodigious nose. "All right. This once. But if ever you try 'n' tell me I'm a wuss, I'm going to remind you of this very moment and laugh your ass all the way to whatever death you have planned for us then. We clear?"

"Crystal, mate."

"Then let the hunt begin."

* * *

**(A/N):**

**(1) ****Throwing a wobbly** – A British (and consequently, Australian) phrase meaning 'to have a fit', or 'having a temper tantrum'. Jim used it once or twice in the English version of YGO GX and no-one had a damn idea what he was saying then, either.

Note: "Pissed" in American is "angry". "Pissed" in British is "drunk". Just to clear that up.

I hope you think you know what bullshit is going to rear its ugly head next chapter. For the ones after that, just keep in mind that my style is to lull you into a false sense of security before shit gets real. You might think you know what's going on now, but you don't. Oh, how you don't. *evil cackle as hands rub together in manic glee*


End file.
